Hal Forsen helps assemble an exhibit on recycled art, board shorts, use of plastics and other recyclables in surf culture at the Surfing Heritage and Culture Center in San Clemente. KEVIN SULLIVAN , STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

An exhibit on recycled art, board shorts, use of plastics and other recyclables in surf culture is prepared at the Surfing Heritage and Culture Center in San Clemente on Friday. KEVIN SULLIVAN , STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

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Creative director Barry Haun, left, and Hal Forsen assemble an exhibit on recycled art, board shorts, use of plastics and other recyclables in surf culture at the Surfing Heritage and Culture Center in San Clemente. KEVIN SULLIVAN , STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

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Earrings made from leftover surfboard resin is past of an exhibit on recycled art, board shorts, use of plastics and other recyclables in surf culture at the Surfing Heritage and Culture Center in San Clemente. KEVIN SULLIVAN , STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

An exhibit on recycled art, board shorts, use of plastics and other recyclables in surf culture is prepared at the Surfing Heritage and Culture Center in San Clemente. KEVIN SULLIVAN , STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

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Surfing Heritage and Culture Center creative director Barry Haun helped curate an exhibit to show how the surf industry is trying to reduce its environmental footprint with products such as boardshorts made from recycled material. KEVIN SULLIVAN , KEVIN SULLIVAN, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

IF YOU GO

The exhibit at Surfing Heritage and Culture Center runs through Nov. 26. People are encouraged to bring their own trash such as Styrofoam or wine corks to be recycled, and they will be entered into a drawing to win surf products.

Two San Clemente High School students, Ila Jane Foskett and Joseph Bell, won $1,000 scholarships for essays they wrote about how pollutants impact the ocean. Their essays are on display at the exhibit's entryway.

SAN CLEMENTE – Curator Barry Haun walks among the art and new products showcased this week at the Surfing Heritage and Culture Center, an exhibit that tells a story about transformation and surf gear.

One item of note: earrings. They’re vibrant, the colors similar to what you’d see in the sea; blue and teal and fushia. But they’re made of the thick resin that you’d find on the floor of a surfboard shape room. They’re surf goo reincarnated as fashionable jewelry.

And that’s the recurring theme in this exhibit of art, surfwear and surf gear called “Plastics to Fantastic.” Part of the message is this: Surfing isn’t a particularly environmentally-friendly sport.

A surfboard, for example, typically is created out of nonrecyclable foam and harsh chemicals. Wetsuits are made of neoprene, a petroleum-based rubber. Even sunscreen has compounds that damage microorganisms essential to balance the ocean’s ecosystem.

But another part of the message is this: It doesn’t have to be that way. Item after item shows how the surf industry is trying to reduce its footprint in nature. Haun, a surfer, indicated that it’s as much about mindset and consumer choice as it is about technology and innovation.

“We need to become more responsible. We as surfers, that’s our playground,” he said. “Not only does (ocean pollution) affect us directly, it affects everybody. It’s just becoming aware and responsible and making wiser choices.

“As surfers, we like to think of ourselves as eco-warriors.,” he said. “But the products we use aren’t very environmentally friendly.”

Some of the exceptions are on display. Patagonia’s first-of-its kind non-neoprene wetsuit is made of natural rubber and plants sourced from Guatemala. The Ventura-based company says using natural rubber reduces the CO2 emitted in wetsuit manufacturing by up to about 80 percent.

“Neoprene is nasty stuff, but for a long time we had no alternative,” said Hub Hubbard, Patagonia’s wetsuit development manager, in a press statement announcing the product release.

Another item, part of the Ecoboard Project, is a board by San Clemente-based Lost Surfboards. It’s made out of a plant-based resin and recycled Styrofoam from Marko Foam in Irvine.

“Pro surfers are winning contests on eco surfboards,” said Kevin Whilden, co-founder of Sustainable Surf, a nonprofit that is setting eco-oriented manufacturing standards – and testing – for surf products.

“There are no drawbacks. If you can get a board that’s environmentally friendly, why not do it?”

Whilden said his group’s goal is to “transform the surf culture into a force to protect the ocean.”

He said that while the surf industry has plenty of room for improvement, it’s also on the forefront of environmental innovation, in part because the customers – surfers – treat the environment as nature’s playground. Haun agreed. But he also said consumers shift culture, and surfers need to improve in this regard, too.

“Once the public demands (environmentally sensitive surf products), there will be a lot more of it,” he said. “Right now, the public isn’t as discerning as they should be.”

Some of the products in this exhibit include boardshorts made up of recycled material. The makers include some of the industry’s bigger brands: Hurley, Quiksilver, Vissla. Another was a mobile, a bit of hanging art made out of old boat parts.

Haun noted that information is key to being a smart, environmentally-minded consumer.

As part of researching the exhibit he learned that plastic supermarket bags initially were created as a safer, cleaner, recyclable alternative to paper bags. At the time, paper mills were viewed (correctly) as a key source of pollution, and plastic bags were seen as an antidote to that. Nobody knew that the bags would wind up in the ocean, and “create a bigger problem.” It’s part of why he chose a non-artist group to exhibit at the show. The Surfrider Foundation is participating, offering information about ocean health and pollution.

“They are at the forefront, really leading public awareness that we need to recycle and make better choices,” Haun said.

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